Saturday, September 13, 2014

Zamenhof's 1917 Declaration of Homaranism

In my previous post I wrote a little bit about the life of L.L. Zamenhof, and why even though he was certainly idealistic, I don't think it is fair or accurate to characterize him as "naive". In this post I present an English translation of Zamenhof's
1917 Declaration of Homaranism (Deklaracio pri Homaranismo) (pgs. 235-242 of "Mi Estas Homo", an
Esperanto anthology of Zamenhof's letters and philosophical writings). I think it is unlikely that anyone will ever establish a Homaranist organization, nevertheless, the problems that Zamenhof was trying to use Homaranism to solve are as serious today as they were in his day. So whether one agrees with the principles and methodology of Homaranism or not, I think Zamenhof's ideas on the causes and solutions to human conflict are valuable at least as food for thought for modern discussions of these same topics.

This version of the Declaration was sent out by Zamenhof just two months before his death,
but the fact that he had been continuously revising it up to that point,
and that he specifically solicited comments and suggestions on this
version suggests that he would have kept on revising it if he had lived
longer. The translation is by me from the original Esperanto of
Zamenhof. I'm not an expert translator, but I don't know of any other
English translation. If you see any mistakes, I'm happy to correct them.
If you know of a better translation, I'd be happy to link to it.

A couple notes on the translation:
1.
I leave the Esperanto words "Homaranismo" and "Homarano" essentially
untranslated, rendering them as "Homaranism" and "Homaranist"
respectively. To get at the meaning of the Esperanto word, we break it
into its five parts: hom-ar-an-ism-o.
hom = human,
ar = a group,
an = a member of a group,
ism = a doctrine or movement (just like the English suffix),
o = a noun.
So
homaranismo literally means "the doctrine of being a member of humanity
treated as unified whole." I don't think there is a pithy English
equivalent (Ian M. Richmond translates it "Humanityism", others have
translated it "Humanism", others "humanitarianism"), so I don't
translate it.

2. For the most part it is close to a literal word for word translation and I tried to avoid taking stylistic liberties.

3.
Zamenhof frequently uses the word "gento", which can mean "race",
"people", or "ethnicity". I have translated it nearly always as
"ethnicity".

Homaranism

Under the name "Homaranism" (from the Esperanto word
"Homarano", which means: "member of the human family") I wish to speak
about the struggle towards "human-ness", towards the elimination of
inter-ethnic hatred and injustice, and towards the kind of lifestyle
which, little by little could lead us not theoretically, but
practically, to the spiritual union of humanity. [footnote from the
original: I beg your pardon for using a word from the Esperanto language
because in the natural languages I was not able to find a fitting
expression, but the name that I used is merely provisional -- the
definitive name of the idea about which I'm talking will be established
later by the friends of the idea itself.]

Because
I am known as the author of the Esperanto language, it is possible that
many people will identify Homaranism with Esperanto; however, that
would be an error. While the essence of Esperanto is politically and
religiously totally indifferent and the internal idea of Esperanto
manifests itself only as an indefinite brotherly feeling and hope,
which each esperantist has a right to not only elaborate for himself as
he likes, but also to accept or reject in general, -- Homaranism is a
specific and well defined politico-religious program, which presents my purely private belief and does not at all concern other esperantists.

But
if in relation to Esperanto my politico-religious belief is my totally
personal business, in all other relations it has in it absolutely
nothing personal. That which I call "Homaranism", is not something new,
thought up by me personally; it is a manifestation of a set of
principles, which -- perhaps not at the same level of detail, but
approximately the same in essence -- has already for a long time been
held in the hearts of many people from all times, lands, and
ethnicities. It is to those people that I now turn.

We
all know that we belong to one big family whose good health must be very
dear to us; we all know that hate and injustice between ethnicities is a
bad and ugly thing; we all want to not be chauvinistic "members of an
ethnicity", but only "humans" and honest citizens of our countries. But
for our principles to have some kind of real value and be able to bear
some kind of fruit, it is necessary that we confess them not secretly
and changing according to the needs of the moment, but publicly and then continuously. For that we must first of all, by way of common agreement, precisely formulate
the essence of our principles, we must put them in the form of a
commonly agreed upon, completely clear declaration in such a way that
they cease to be worthless, obscure, and easily discarded abstractions,
but become a completely defined, concrete banner, a real (and for people
with freedom of religion even official and heritable) link between those people who adhere to them.

Desiring
to initiate the preparation of that kind of common agreement, I now ask
that everyone who approves of the essence of those principles, which I
provisionally name "Homaranism", please let yourself be known to me by
filling out and sending to me the text of the letter given at the end of
this brochure. I ask also that you inform as many people as possible of
the contents of this brochure.

When it becomes evident
that the number of people who approve of Homaranism is large enough for
us to effectively begin real work, then we will arrange the first
congress of Homaranists. That congress will once and for all discuss the
whole idea of Homaranism and all of its details and by common consent
will establish the definitive text of the "Declaration of Homaranism"
and the initial stages of our future work. Because the goal of
Homaranism is to give not some ephemeral theory, but something practical
and lasting, one of the chief tasks of that congress will be: give
Homaranism a kind of form such that it, in a way similar to religious
and ethnic entities, will be able to become a thing that is
automatically inherited. The arrangement of this congress will be taken
up by the Swiss friends of the Homaranist idea. Regarding the exact date
and location, everyone will be informed when the time comes.

To
organize and facilitate the work of the congress and to give all of the
future attendees the opportunity to think about the themes to be
discussed beforehand, to the congress will be presented the "Example
text of the declaration of Homaranism" printed below, which will serve
as a guiding basis for the work of the congress. Each paragraph will be
discussed separately and in detail and by common consent will be made
each change, deletions and additions, that is shown to be useful. It
should be remembered that the here-given Example Declaration is only a project, that binds no one;
that if someone approves of the general essence of Homaranism according
the the here-given Example Declaration, that doesn't mean he is bound
by the details: if he does not like the final text of the Declaration,
which will be established by the congress, or the way in which it is
decided to realize the Declaration, he will have every right to not
commit to it.

Homaranism should not be mistakenly
confused with the so called cosmopolitanism; nor should it mistakenly be
thought that, in its battle against the ethnic divisions that sharply
divide humanity, Homaranism wants to kill the existing languages and
religious beliefs. In the same way that honest patriotism, inspiring the
citizen to strive for complete solidarity and brotherhood among
countrymen, does not at all prohibit a person from loving his own city
more than another city in his country, or his family more than another
family, or from speaking at home in his particular dialect and having in
his heart his private beliefs, neither does Homaranism demand of its
partisan that he reject his completely natural love for his homeland,
his native or preferred language, or his faithfulness to his religious
belief: it asks only that he keep all of this for himself and that he do
not impose his ethnic or other interests on other people; that he not view as a high virtue
worthy of cultivation by whatever means necessary, that which sadly
disunites people; that out of his however natural, but still only
self-serving preferences, he make for himself neither an idol, nor a war flag.

From
the moment when people force themselves to put their personal and
family ideals below the ideals of their ethnic group, from the mutually
conflicting individuals and families little by little are formed strong,
unified peoples; the more people who force themselves to put their
ethnic ideals below the ideals of humanity, the more rapidly from the
mutually conflicting ethnic groups will grow, little by little, a
powerful and harmoniously working humanity.

L. L. Zamenhof

Example text of the Declaration of Homaranism

I am a Homaranist;
that means that by complete public subscription to the Declaration of
Homaranism I accepted for myself the following principles:

1.
I
am a human and regard the entirety of humanity as one family; the
division of humanity into various mutually hostile ethnicities and
ethno-religious communities I regard as one of the greatest tragedies,
which sooner or later must disappear and whose disappearance by natural
and peaceful means I must accelerate as much as I can.

2.
I
see in every human just a human, and I judge every human only by his
personal merit and acts; every kind of offense or oppression against
someone because has a different ethnicity, a different language, a
different religion, or a different social class than I do, I regard as a
barbarity.
I understand that everyone alive has equal right to
every blessing of life according only to his merits and independent of
who his parents were or how powerful he is; but I understand that moral
and material inequality among people must be fought not by unjust means
or brute physical force, but only by striving peacefully to improve
societal laws and institutions.

3.
I
understand that every country belongs not to this or that ethnicity, but
completely equally to all of its native and naturalized inhabitants
whatever their supposed origin, language, religion or social role; the
identification of the interests of a country with the interests of this
or that ethnicity or religion and the pretext of historical rights that
permit one people in the country to reign over the other peoples and
refuse to them the most elementary and natural right, the right to their
homeland, I regard as the remnants of barbarous times, when there was
only the law of fist and sword.

4.
I
understand that every state and province must carry a neutral
geographical name, and not the name of an ethnicity, language, or
religion,because ethnic names, which many countries have, are
the primary reason why the inhabitants of one supposed origin there
regard themselves as masters over the inhabitants of a different origin
and the most natural children of one country are tied to the interests
of another country, which is for them completely foreign. Until such a
time as all lands officially receive neutral names, I must at least in
specifically Homaranist documents name them according to Homaranist
principles, for example according to their capital city together with
the word "state", "province", "region" etc., or in some other way
mutually accepted by the Homaranists.

5.
I
understand that in his private life, every human has the full and
indisputable right to speak whichever language or dialect is most
pleasing to him, and confess the religion that is most pleasing to him,
but in communication with people with different languages or religions
he must avoid, as much as possible, the imposition of his ethnic or
religious customs, using a neutral language, neutral ethics and customs,
a neutral calendar, etc. Until those neutral customs are determined for
the whole world, I must at least in specifically Homaranist
interactions use the customs which have been agreed upon among the
Homaranists. I understand that wherever inter-ethnic conflict does not
exist, for inhabitants of the same state or region the role of neutral
language may be taken by the state language or the cultural language
spoken by the large majority of the local inhabitants, but that must be
regarded merely as a concession to convenience of the minority to the
majorit, not as a humble tribute owed by a subservient ethnicity to a
master ethnicity.

6.
Because I understand
that mutual struggle among people will never cease until people get used
to establishing the name "human" higher than the name of an ethnicity,
and because the too-imprecise word "people" often causes hateful
divisions among children of the same country or even the same ethnicity,
for those reasons when asked which people I belong to, I will respond:
"I am a Homaranist"; only when I am asked specifically about my country,
province, language, or supposed origin, will I give a precise response.
But whenever it would be suspected that I might want to hide my origin
or neglect my civic duty, I will define my ethnological details in more
detail, saying that, by my origin I belong to this or that ethnicity, by
my citizenship I belong to this or that country and by my convictions I
am a Homaranist.

7.
I can call my
homeland only that country where I was born and where am a permanent
resident. If for some reason the country where I was born is not the
same as the country of my permanent residence, I can use for them the
expressions "physical homeland" or "land of birth", and "political
homeland" or "house land". I must never give the name homeland to some
other country just because it was ruled by my ancient ancestors, or that
many members of my ethnicity live there, no matter what kind of
powerful allure that country has for me, because such a name would be a
sin against the principle of ownership of each country by the current
residents, and a misunderstanding of my civic duties. But because, due
to political, historical, ethnographic, and geographic reasons, the
concept of a country and its borders is too imprecise and ephemeral, and
often gives cause to constant disputes and conflict, for those reasons
when defining the country that I call my homeland, I must be guided not
by personal or ethnic taste, but only by that Homaranically unbiased,
equal in all places and circumstances, principle which is established by
the common consent of all Homaranists. Until the time when that
principle is definitively established by the Homaranists, I can in every
doubtful occasion, instead of the imprecise word "homeland", use the
more precis expressions: "home city", "home region", "home state", etc.

8.
Patriotism
is the name I give to the service of the good of all my countrymen, and
particularly of those from my city, whatever their origin, language,
religion, or social role. The service of the interests of one specific
ethnicity, or the hate of people outside my household, I must never call
patriotism. I understand that deep love for one's place of birth and
one's home is completely natural and common to all people and that only
unusual outside circumstances can paralyze that natural feeling. For
that reason, if in my home all labor is exploited for the convenience or
glory of just one specific ethnicity, and that paralyzes my struggle
for social labor, I must never lose hope, but I must console myself with the belief that the unusual
state in my home sooner or later will pass and my children will enjoy
that empowering feeling, which by no fault of my own, fortune has denied
to me.

9.
I understand that the
love which each person has for the language or dialect in which his
mother spoke to him or in which he received his education is totally
natural and I must never fight against that feeling or offend its
expression in other people. But, understanding that language must be for
man not an end, but only a means, not a tool for division, but a tool
for unity, and that language chauvinism is one of the main causes of
hate among people, I must not make any language my cause solely for
ethnic motives. When someone asks me specifically about my native
language, I will name, without some kind of ethnic, political, or
opportunistic bias, only that language or dialect that I spoke in my
childhood with my parents, all the same whether it belongs to my
ethnicity or not; when I am asked about which language I speak most
often, speak best, or prefer to use, I will without some kind of
chauvinistic bias respond truthfully; but when I am asked which language
I call mine according to my convictions and ideals, I must give a
response based only on that principle which according to the common
decision of all Homaranists is accepted as conforming most to Homaranist
convictions. Until such a time as that principle is definitively
established, I can give whatever response is dictated to me by my
personal Homaranist sentiment.

10.
Understanding
that religion must only be matter of sincere belief, but must not be
used to create divisions among ethnicities, I call mine only that
religion, which I actually believe. But whatever my religion, I practice
it according to the neutrally human homaranistic principles which
consist as follows:

a) The highest, for me
incomprehensible Power, which is the cause of all causes in the material
and moral world, I can name with the name "God", or some other name,
but I understand that everyone has the right to interpret for themselves
the essence of this Power, according to his own judgement and heart, or
the teachings of his church. I must never hate, mock, or persecute
someone based on his beliefs about God and about the most important
problems of existence being different from mine.

b) I understand that the essential
commands of the highest Power are written in the heart of every human in
the form of his conscience, and that the primary principle of these
orders which is incumbent on all people is: treat other people as you
would like other people to treat you; everything else in religion I
regard as additions which every person, according to his belief has a
right to see as either words of God that he must obey, or as human
commentary which mixed with legends were given to us by humanity's great
teachers of various ethnicities, and as norms which are established by
men and whose fulfillment or nonfulfillment depends on our preference.

c)
Understanding that the voice of conscience is easily heard only when
one exercises it, I must -- if I can -- belong to some kind of
Homaranist group and in its meetings participate in the theoretical
exploration and practical application of various ethical problems
according to the spirit of Homaranism.

d) I understand
that nothing so strongly divides humanity as the ethnically-inherited
differences of religious framework and the conventions, education, customs, lifestyle,
and sympathies based on it. For that reason if I believe in the
particular dogmas of one of the existing religions, I must belong to it
independent of whether or not my ancestors belonged to it; but if I do not believe in any of the existing dogmatic religions, I must not adhere to one solely for ethnic motivations, and by my adherence deceive people about my convictions and hereditarily feed
for endless generations interethnic separation, but I must either
officially call myself religionless, or officially belong to that
neutral religion which is unassociated with any ethnicity or any
controversial doctrine, which little by little by common consent all
freethinking Homaranists will work out for themselves, I must completely
and hereditarily accept for myself its name, its ethical rules,
conventions, holidays, and community arrangements. If I am a
freethinker, but where I live there still doesn't exist a well organized
neutrally religious community which I can join to the full contentment
of my soul and that of my family, I can provisionally remain subscribed
to that religion in which I was born, but to show the nature of my
personal convictions, I must always append to its name that religious
name which has been accepted for themselves by common consent by all freethinking Homaranists.

Whoever
approves of the essence of Homaranism, is asked to complete and send to
Dr. L.L. Zamenhof (Warsaw, Królewska street N. 41) the following
letter:

I, the undersigned, make it known that:
1) I
approve of the chief essence of the "Example text of the Declaration of
Homaranism", but I reserve the right to not consent to individual
details.
2) My full name is:
3) My address is:
4) My profession is:
5) I was born in the year:
6) I was born in the religion:
7) By my personal religious convictions I am:

Signed:

One
can receive this brochure from Dr. L.L. Zamenhof. The price of 10 units
is 25 centimes (or 20 pfennigs); with postage the price is double.